<p>Wow. This certainly isn't a decision I ever thought I'd have to make in my entire life... I'm just a girl from the Middle of Nowhere, New Hampshire. </p>
<p>Now I'm wondering... Boston or California? This is impossible!</p>
<p>Is anyone else posed with this dilemna? What would you do?</p>
<p>-Caroline</p>
<p>Visit the schools. Several times if possible. And certainly do it a few times that are not the annual spring admitted students weekend. This will give you a realistic feeling regarding the atmospheres at both schools, and you can see which one is a better fit for you.</p>
<p>First, congratulations. Isn't it great to be faced with a choice that you didn't think you'd ever have to make?</p>
<p>The many visits etc. might be a little extravagant, but the idea is right. See both places, if you can. Talk to the students -- as many as you can. Visit the classes. </p>
<p>The obvious contrasts: MIT is bigger, more sprawling, with more activities and more niches to fit into. It's in Boston, a very eastern city with lots of things to do that are perfectly suited to the young, college age population.</p>
<p>Caltech is smaller, has a 1:1:1 undergrad:grad student:Ph.D. ratio (and a 3:1 undergrad:professor ratio), is more intensely focused, probably has a more academically intense experience for the average student, is in warm sunny California where it rarely is below 70 in the daytime, has the beach and great skiing a short trip away.</p>
<p>Both schools have areas in which they're probably somewhat stronger than the other, but it's mostly splitting hairs, since in math and the sciences both places are so great. You should probably decide on the feel of the place -- which one makes you feel more at home.</p>
<p>Congrats again : )</p>
<p>Yay! Same decision for me.</p>
<p>I have one advantage, perhaps. I know a few kids from my school who have gone to MIT and to Caltech. And they're here for Christmas, so I get to speak to them. One of the guys who went to Caltech ended up winning a car on "The Price is Right."</p>
<ul>
<li>Fred.</li>
</ul>
<p>Current sophomore at Caltech, had the same decision.</p>
<p>Although for me it was fairly easy, given that the general impression I got from MIT was that I didn't like it. No one particular reason, I just wasn't excited about the school.
I really liked Caltech, again based on overall impression.</p>
<p>Specifics that added to Tech vs. MIT for me were:
location: I'm from Florida. Anything below 60 degrees is cold. Thus, SoCal wins over Boston. And I don't really like big cities. So Pasadena wins over Boston. </p>
<p>Hovse system: I loved the idea. I still think it's one of the best parts of Tech. I can honestly say that if it weren't for my house, I'd have had a much less enjoyable time at Tech thus far. Not necessarily a BAD time, but a less-fun one.</p>
<p>I would say that the best way to decide is to visit both schools. They're basically equal academically (at least science-wise, if you're strongly interested in the humanities as well, MIT has an advantage); I'd definately concentrate more on which one you'd be happier at.</p>
<p>c'mon. you're a girl. Caltech seriously needs like 25% more girls. haha</p>
<p>A professor at a local U had 3 children, 1 at Stanford, 1 at Caltech, & 1 at MIT. He gave us many reasons why Caltech was his favorite: D able to get involved with research 1st term; could get anywhere on campus in 5 minutes, which really matters when its 2 am; loved the house system and fact that all houses (except avery) are right next to each other, so easy to meet up with friends and study groups; can get involved with ECs easily, etc. I can't recall all his reasons as this was few years ago. He thoughtCaltech was BEST for undergrad edu, and any of these schools would be wonderful for grad school. just an opinion.</p>
<p>The only real negative I've heard was dating for the heterosexual guys, which means you'd have an advantage. In addition, you'd have the satisfaction that being a female was not a hook for you at this school. I think you'll be impressed with the # and quality of female faculty. I'm sure if you post on MIT site, you'll get different opinions.</p>
<p>I came to Caltech because the ideal of an intense core appealed to me greatly. The idea of 5 grueling terms of physics and math, but doing them with classmates/friends down the hall, just seemed like the experience for me. While our core is obviously longer than MIT's, we do get 2/3 of frosh year on Pass/fail compared to one term for them. :)</p>
<p>I also came for the nice prof to student ratio, which I think works as I expected. The prof I worked for during my SURF was a great guy, and I also am really glad that we have an option advisor. Also, this year I had my first in-major class (and wow, it's strange attending a class where everyone can tell instantly who's ditching).</p>
<p>I still maintain that prospective students can have an ideal of what they want to do in 4 years. I considered it most probable that I would pursue a PhD, and Caltech definitely provides the best preparation for grad school (the combination of world-class research in a small school).</p>
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It's in Boston, a very eastern city ...
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[quote]
]And I don't really like big cities. So Pasadena wins over Boston.
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<p>Let me clear up one thing right now before it gets out of hand. MIT is NOT in Boston, it's in Cambridge. Cambridge is not Boston. </p>
<p>Furthermore, let me just point out that Pasadena is actually a more populous city than is Cambridge. </p>
<p>It's true that MIT is near Boston. But hey, Caltech is near Los Angeles. And Los Angeles is a substantially bigger city than Boston is.</p>
<p>sakky, I agree with all of your geographical points. But, having been to both campuses, and coming from the Midwest, midway between them almost, I would have to say that the general characterization of Caltech as a less "urban" campus is a correct characterization--even though reasonable minds can differ about whether that is a feature or a bug. Tastes differ in weather too, but I think there is no reasonable dispute that Caltech offers more days of shirtsleeve (or no sleeve) outdoor weather than MIT.</p>
<p>it's also much harder to get to LA if you don't have a car than it is to get from MIT to Boston (there's the T, and some people actually live in Boston, and there are shuttles etc)</p>
<p>Hehe... sakky, you're right. I just came back from MIT a day ago and I must say it felt like I was in Boston, but of course it's across the river.</p>
<p>I do feel like Caltech is less urban, but I'm pretty sure you weren't disputing that.</p>
<p>Caltech kids seem to thrive in shorts, T-shirts, & sandals, and bikes are common mode of transportation. Orange trees, pools and flowers dominate campus, with views of the mountains. Pasadena's Old Town has every kind of restaurant & store that you would want.</p>
<p>Cambridge/Boston has everything too, but definitely more urban & cold.</p>
<p>Both are wonderful. visit, sit in on classes</p>
<p>how is the public transportation near Caltech?</p>
<p>It sucks.
I tried getting from pasadena to the airport by train- it took 4 hours; and i think there were two arrests made while I was on the train.</p>
<p>Ilya, quit whining. When I was taking the Metro to LAX, the train in front of me hit a pedestrian and delayed the line for a half-hour.</p>
<p>It takes about 2.5 hours to get from LAX to Caltech via the Metro, 2 hours from LAX to the Gold Line Lake station, and a 20-30 minute walk to campus. It's not all that bad, and you get to see many different parts of LA from a train. And if you're poor (or cheap) like me, it's only $3 vs. $16 for a SuperShuttle.</p>
<p>It's passable for other things. It's easy to get to downtown, Chinatown, etc. via the Gold Line -- 15 minute walk (like to the T from most places on the MIT campus). But the public transportation in Boston wins by a wide margin... it's by far the best I've seen anywhere.</p>
<p>Supershuttle is $19 now!</p>
<p>Another thing that you can consider, would you prefer being in a freshman class of ~2^8, or one of ~2^10? Some people prefer the smaller classes, smaller groups of people around, and some people prefer being able to always meet someone new with a larger number of people on campus.</p>
<p>$19 from campus? If you get picked up/dropped off at one of the campus stops, you get a discount of a few bucks. As of September, I only had to pay $20 to get to LAX ($16 fare + $4 tip). I went to Long Beach for Christmas which cost $49 for Super Shuttle.</p>